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1 – 10 of over 2000
Article
Publication date: 6 February 2017

Thomas Alexander Baker III, Xindan Liu, Natasha T. Brison and Nathan David Pifer

For this study, the Jordan case provided the context for investigating Chinese trademark law with the purpose of answering how and why Jordan lost the legal rights to the Chinese…

Abstract

Purpose

For this study, the Jordan case provided the context for investigating Chinese trademark law with the purpose of answering how and why Jordan lost the legal rights to the Chinese version of his name in China. The results from that investigation were used to better explain the phenomena of transliteration and trademark squatting in relation to sport brands and athletes. The purpose of this paper is to formulate suggestions for protecting sport brands and athletes from trademark squatting in China.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used traditional legal methodology to investigate the influence of transliteration on trademark squatting in China based on the real-life context provided by the facts in Jordan. First, all reported materials from Chinese courts on the Jordan case were collected and analyzed by the research team, which included an investigator who is fluent in Chinese. Second, the authors conducted a collection, review, and analysis of China’s trademark law, the international trademark law that controls court decisions in China, and the literature on trademark squatting in China. The results from the investigations were used to formulate a description of Jordan that details how the process of transliteration facilitates trademark squatting in China.

Findings

The findings revealed a loophole within the Chinese administration of trademark regulation through which trademark squatters use the process of transliteration to infringe on trademark rights belonging to senior, foreign brands. Furthermore, the findings lead us to suggest that sport brands are particularly vulnerable to this type of trademark squatting in China. In Jordan, Qiaodan Sports exploited the transliteration loophole to obtain trademark ownership of Qiaodan to the detriment of Brand Jordan and, to a lesser extent, Chinese consumers.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to the literature by conceptualizing a “transliteration loophole” that facilitates trademark squatting in China. Further, this is the first study to focus on how the concepts of transliteration and trademark squatting influence celebrity athletes and sport brands.

Practical implications

For foreign celebrity athletes and sport brands, the case should alert them of their vulnerability to trademark squatting of transliterations assigned to them by sport broadcasters or sport consumers in China. For instructors of sport law and sport marketing courses, the Jordan case provides teachable lessons on the value of trademark, the process of trademark squatting, and the process of transliteration and its relation to trademark squatting in China.

Social implications

Socially, studies in trademark squatting and Chinese trademark law are needed as China continues to expand its intellectual property regulations. The People’s Republic of China started regulating trademarks in the 1980s and since then, there have been three major modifications. Still, controversies exist in terms of trademark squatting of foreign brands and research is needed to better understand why this happens, and how it can be avoided.

Originality/value

The focus on sport as well as the suggestions offered for sport brands and celebrity athletes makes this study the first of its kind within the literature on trademark squatting in China. The importance and impact of the Jordan case is one that attracts attention and should result in significant impact in the literature and practical impact for the field.

Details

International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1464-6668

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 26 February 2008

Louise Hallenborg, Marco Ceccagnoli and Meadow Clendenin

This chapter provides an overview of five modes of intellectual property (IP) protection – patents, designs, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets – available in the United…

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of five modes of intellectual property (IP) protection – patents, designs, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets – available in the United States, the European Union, and Japan. After describing the purposes of and principal differences among the five types of IP protection and outlining the advantages of each form, the chapter provides country- and region-specific information. The authors highlight the aspects of IP law in which international harmonization has, or has not yet, occurred, and offer insights into the relative advantages of various national and regional IP protection systems.

Details

Technological Innovation: Generating Economic Results
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-532-1

Book part
Publication date: 1 October 2007

Jonathan Putnam

I begin with a dispute over a fox hunt, by which to understand the law of tangible property, then develop that metaphor for the major types of intellectual property. I start with…

Abstract

I begin with a dispute over a fox hunt, by which to understand the law of tangible property, then develop that metaphor for the major types of intellectual property. I start with domestic U.S. patent law for the sake of concreteness, and generalize to other jurisdictions and types of intellectual property. In the latter parts of the paper I discuss the international implications of intellectual property, including especially the effects of information spillovers. The last part of the paper describes the hazards in analogizing “trade” in intellectual property rights to trade in goods, and particularly in interpreting international patent data. These hazards motivate the search for a structural model specially adapted to the purpose of valuing international intellectual property rights and rules. The goal is to give economists a simple and integrated framework for analyzing intellectual property across time, jurisdiction and regime type, with an eye towards eventually developing other incentive systems that have the advantages of property (such as decentralized decision-making), but fewer of the disadvantages.

Details

Intellectual Property, Growth and Trade
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-539-0

Book part
Publication date: 16 September 2022

Katerina Toshevska-Trpchevska, Irena Kikerkova, Elena Makrevska Disoska and Ljuben Kocev

Trade in counterfeit products has been expanding continuously. The emergence of the internet, the process of globalisation as well as the increase of digitalisation have enabled…

Abstract

Trade in counterfeit products has been expanding continuously. The emergence of the internet, the process of globalisation as well as the increase of digitalisation have enabled counterfeit products to infiltrate legitimate supply chains, causing harm not only to national economies but also to holders of intellectual property rights (IPR). In this chapter, we analyse the possible solutions that holders of IP rights and their legal representatives have in their fight against the online sale of counterfeit products. To elaborate on this issue, first, we explain the legislation on an international level for IPR protection and its specific characteristics. We explain the conventions on the protection of IPR that are governed by the World Intellectual Protection Organisation (WIPO) and the provisions of the TRIPS (Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement governed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). We also analyse the national legislative procedure of protecting and enforcing IPR in North Macedonia to explain a possible solution to fight online counterfeit trade. As a case study of this chapter, we explain the work of the Online Enforcement Programme of REACT as a not-for-profit organisation with over 30 years of experience in the fight against counterfeit trade and the challenges that they have in fighting against the online sale of counterfeit products. Since IP law is territorial in its nature as a conclusion, we suggest that a more centralised approach is needed in the fight against the online sale of counterfeit products.

Details

Counterfeiting and Fraud in Supply Chains
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-574-6

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 April 2022

Kwang-Hwee Cheng

This article presents a study of the trademark lawsuits in Singapore involving the Polo/Lauren Company, L.P. (“PRL”) in their attempts to stop various competitors and businesses…

Abstract

Purpose

This article presents a study of the trademark lawsuits in Singapore involving the Polo/Lauren Company, L.P. (“PRL”) in their attempts to stop various competitors and businesses from using the word “polo” and/or a device of a polo player. Hitherto, there has not been any concerted study of these lawsuits that seeks to analyse the legal principles underpinning the case judgements and translate them into actionable marketing insights using both legal and marketing perspectives. Applying both of such perspectives through the domains of trademark law, consumer attitudes towards counterfeiting and marketing perspectives, such as targeting, promotion and pricing strategies, this article will distill practical and managerial implications for marketers in the luxury brand industry.

Design/methodology/approach

An interdisciplinary approach is adopted, using both legal and marketing frameworks to analyse the decisions, reasoning and implications from the PRL trademark lawsuits.

Findings

There are key practical considerations for marketers and luxury brand managers to consider, both at the conception and during the life cycle of the luxury brand, in order to optimise the level of legal protection under the trademark regime. These include the use of invented words and imaginary content in trademarks, exercising a balancing of various considerations in the use of “composite marks”, and the selection of market pricing, promotion and distribution strategies, which are elaborated in the article.

Research limitations/implications

Given the commonality of the subject matter involved in the trademark lawsuits involving PRL (i.e. the use of the word “polo” and/or the device of a polo player), this study has chosen to focus only on these lawsuits in the context of the Singapore market, and based on Singapore's legal framework, to glean thematic and practical insights. Further studies based on other types of businesses, geographical markets and legal frameworks could be explored to form a better basis for the applicability and comparability of the findings.

Originality/value

While there have been case studies and analyses performed on some of the individual PRL trademark lawsuits around the world, this will be the first study to look at the series of Singapore PRL lawsuits in a holistic and interdisciplinary perspective.

Details

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, vol. 35 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-5855

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 January 2012

Ross D. Petty

This research aims to examine a number of legal sources for evidence that US marketers were interested in protecting their brand identities in the 1800s.

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Abstract

Purpose

This research aims to examine a number of legal sources for evidence that US marketers were interested in protecting their brand identities in the 1800s.

Design/methodology/approach

The research examines historical legal records including registrations for commercial prints and labels, design patents and trademarks as well as other legal records. The work discusses the evolution of the concept of brand identity by examining various legal methods that were used to try to protect brand identity from imitation.

Findings

The research suggests that marketer interest in the development and protection of brand identity preceded the US Civil War and confirms that this interest was led by marketers of patent medicines, tobacco and liquor. However, the study also demonstrates strong interest by marketers of many other types of products from disposable products to durable manufactured items.

Research limitations/implications

Many original records were lost in the 1836 Patent Office fire or have been simply lost. Some of the databases examined are too large to be comprehensively examined.

Originality/value

The examination of legal records from this period of uncertainty shows how the practice of brand identification led to the concept of brand identity: the legal data examined offer a wealth of information for marketing historians.

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 4 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 September 2008

Ross D. Petty

This paper aims to assert that trademark law is too restrictive and that consumers should have some rights to a brand independent of the brand owner.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to assert that trademark law is too restrictive and that consumers should have some rights to a brand independent of the brand owner.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines the expansive tendency of trademark law and the concept of trademark fair use and the impact of trademark law on customer relationships.

Findings

The concept of trademark fair use offers only limited benefits to brand consumers.

Practical implications

Despite the ability to enforce exclusive ownership rights under trademark law, brand owners need to exert a broad view of customer co‐ownership or they risk less customer involvement with the brand.

Originality/value

The paper proposes policy changes to allow great consumer enjoyment of brands.

Details

Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 17 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1061-0421

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 14 August 2015

Laura A. Heymann

Artists operating under a studio model, such as Andy Warhol, have frequently been described as reducing their work to statements of authorship, indicated by the signature finally…

Abstract

Artists operating under a studio model, such as Andy Warhol, have frequently been described as reducing their work to statements of authorship, indicated by the signature finally affixed to the work. By contrast, luxury goods manufacturers decry as inauthentic and counterfeit the handbags produced during off-shift hours using the same materials and craftsmanship as the authorized goods produced hours earlier. The distinction between authentic and inauthentic often turns on nothing more than a statement of authorship. Intellectual property law purports to value such statements of authenticity, but no statement has value unless it is accepted as valid by its audience, a determination that depends on shared notions of what authenticity means as well as a common understanding of what authenticity designates.

Details

Special Issue: Thinking and Rethinking Intellectual Property
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-881-6

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2000

Irvine Clarke and Margaret Owens

Parallel importation, the selling of trademarked products through unauthorized distribution channels, can erode trademark image, strain channel relationships and disrupt global…

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Abstract

Parallel importation, the selling of trademarked products through unauthorized distribution channels, can erode trademark image, strain channel relationships and disrupt global planning efforts. With the recent changes in federal court precedent and the landmark 1998 L’Anza Supreme Court decision, the legal rights associated with trademarked products in gray markets have forever changed. Therefore, the authors review the current status of regulatory and judicial decisions affecting gray marketing activities to provide a practical framework for marketing managers. Legal and nonlegal suggestions, for the protection of trademarks in gray market competition, are offered.

Details

International Marketing Review, vol. 17 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-1335

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 July 2018

Afroza Begum

This paper aims to investigate the Indian legal and judicial approaches to well-known trademark (WT) by placing special focus on the way the judiciary has striven to foster the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the Indian legal and judicial approaches to well-known trademark (WT) by placing special focus on the way the judiciary has striven to foster the regulatory goal of defending the distinctiveness of WT.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on primary and secondary resources; especially, the paper critically examines the central piece of legislation relevant to WT and analyses and compares a number of important judicial decisions of India.

Findings

Despite some limitations, the judicial initiatives reflect an impressive progression towards WT, and given the contemporary commercial imperatives backed up by technological advances, the interconnectedness of economies and global corporisation, such a progression is indispensable.

Research limitations/implications

The research involves only the legal aspects of WT; therefore, the social and economic implication is beyond the scope of it.

Practical implications

Even though the legal and judicial attempts in India have raised an inevitable tension between different competing claims and are in some instances intensely debated, a review of existing resources evidences a series of effective methods and practices where a balance can sensibly be drawn between those claims.

Details

Journal of Financial Crime, vol. 25 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-0790

Keywords

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